possibly sometimes make it prudent to delay entering into that state; but in general, when nature has rendered our bodies fit for it, the presumption is in nature's favor, that she has not judged amiss in making us desire it. Late marriages are often attended, too, with this further inconvenience, that there is not the same chance that the parents shall live to see their offspring educated. "Late children," says the Spanish proverb, "are early orphans." A melancholy reflection to those whose case it may be! With us in America, marriages are generally in the morning of life; our children are therefore educated and settled in the world by noon; and thus, our business being done, we have an afternoon and evening of cheerful leisure to ourselves; such as our friend at present enjoys. By these early marriages we are blessed with more children; and from the mode among us, founded by nature, every mother suckling and nursing her own child, more of them are raised. Thence the swift progress of population among us, unparalleled in Europe.

In fine, I am glad you are married, and congratulate you most cordially upon it. You are now in the way of becoming a useful citizen; and you have escaped the unnatural state of celibacy for life, the fate of many here, who never intended it, but who, having too long postponed the change of their condition, find at length that it is too late to think of it, and so live all their lives in a situation that greatly lessens a man's value. An odd volume of a set of books bears not the value of its proportion to the set. What think you of the odd half of a pair of scissors? It

cannot well cut any thing; it may possibly serve to scrape a trencher.

Pray make my compliments and best wishes acceptable to your bride. I am old and heavy, or I should ere this have presented them in person. I shall make but small use of the old man's privilege, that of giving advice to younger friends. Treat your wife always with respect; it will procure respect to you, not only from her, but from all that observe it. Never use a slighting expression to her, even in jest, for slights in jest, after frequent bandyings, are apt to end in angry earnest. Be studious in your profession, and you will be learned. will be learned. frugal, and you will be rich. ate, and you will be healthy. and you will be happy. At least you will, by such conduct, stand the best chance for such consequences. I pray God to bless you both; being ever your affectionate friend, B. FRANKLIN.

Be industrious and Be sober and temperBe in general virtuous,

CCCXLII

A SCHEME

FOR A

NEW ALPHABET AND REFORMED MODE OF SPELLING

WITH

REMARKS AND EXAMPLES CONCERNING THE SAME, AND AN ENQUIRY INTO
ITS USES, IN A CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN MISS STEVENSON
AND DR. FRANKLIN, WRITTEN IN THE CHARACTERS
OF THE ALPHABET1

I hope I shall be forgiven for observing that even our present printed and written characters are fundamentally the same. The (Roman) printed one is

I For the nature and intention of this alphabet, I must refer to what Dr. Franklin has himself said upon the subject, in answer to Miss Stevenson's objections; as the reader may understand the whole in an hour or two. It is necessary to add, that the new letters used in

certainly the neatest, simplest, and most legible of the two; but for the sake of ease and rapidity in our writing, it seems we there insert a number of joining or terminating strokes, substitute curves for angles, and give the letters a small inclination, to which rules even the letters a, g, r, and w, are easily reconcilable. This will cease to appear a remark of mere curiosity, if applied to the deciphering of foreign correspondence. But for this purpose I would add that the French in particular seem to treat the small up-stroke in the letters h, p, and c, as proceeding originally in an angle from the bottom of the down-stroke: they therefore begin it with a curve from the bottom, and keep it all the way distinct; hence forming their written r much like our written v. This last letter v, they again distinguish by a loop at the bottom; which loop they often place where we place an outward curve. The remarkable terminating s which they sometimes use, seems intended for our printed s begun from the bottom, but from corrupt writing inverted and put horizontally, instead of vertically. It is rather from bad writing than system that their n and m appear like u and w. I could go on to speak of the formation of written and printed capitals, but as this would be a work of mere curiosity, I leave it for the reader's

amusement.

the course of printing this paper, are exactly copied from the manuscript in my possession; there being no provision for a distinction in the character as written or printed. I have no other way, therefore, of marking the scored parts of the manuscript (answering to italics) than by placing such passages between inverted commas. As to capitals, I should have provided for them by means of larger types, but the form of some of them would have made them too large for the page. However, were the author's general system ever adopted, nothing would be easier than to remedy this particular.-B. V.

TABLE OF THE

SOUNDED, RESPECTIVELY, AS IN THE WORDS IN THE COLUMN BELOW

น Tool, fool, rule.

y* um, un; as in umbrage, unto, &c., and as in

*The six new letters are marked with an asterisk (*), to distinguish them and show how few new sounds are proposed.

Sounds and
Characters.

e

i

น

น

huh

gi

ki

ish

ing

en

γ

ti

di

el

es

ez

eh

MANNER OF PRONOUNCING THE SOUNDS

The first VOWEL naturally, and deepest sound; requires only to open the mouth, and breathe through it.

The next requiring the mouth opened a little more, or hollower.

The next, a little more.

The next requires the tongue to be a little more elevated.
The next still more.

The next requires the lips to be gathered up, leaving a
small opening.

The next a very short vowel, the sound of which we should express in our present letters thus, uh; a short, and not very strong aspiration.

A stronger or more forcible aspiration.

The first CONSONANT; being formed by the root of the tongue; this is the present hard g.

A kindred sound; a little more acute; to be used instead of the hard c.

A new letter wanted in our language; our sh, separately taken, not being proper elements of the sound.

A new letter wanted for the same reason:-These are formed back in the mouth.

Formed more forward in the mouth; the tip of the tongue to the roof of the mouth.

The same; the tip of the tongue a little loose or separate from the roof of the mouth, and vibrating.

The tip of the tongue more forward; touching, and then leaving the roof.

The same; touching a little fuller.

The same; touching just about the gums of the upper teeth.

This sound is formed by the breath passing between the moist end of the tongue and the upper teeth.

The same; a little denser and duller.

The tongue under, and a little behind, the upper teeth; touching them, but so as to let the breath pass between. The same; a little fuller.

ef Formed by the lower lip against the upper teeth.

The lips full together, and opened as the air passes out. pi The same; but a thinner sound.

em

The closing of the lips, while the e [here annexed] is sounding.

VOL. V. 3.